Friday, August 15, 2008

Beauty taken away

If you can read this article from the NY Times yesterday, then watch the video below and not feel a lump in your throat, you're a stronger person than me. The back story is that 26-year-old Liu Yan, reputed to be the finest Chinese classical dancer, was rehearsing for a solo dance to be done during the opening ceremonies of the Beijing Olympics. There was a problem with a piece of equipment, she ended up falling down a shaft and breaking her back, leaving her paralyzed. A tragically ironic accident, made all the more poignant by her comment at the end of the very well reported article: “ 'I hope one day I can just stand up like a normal person,' she said wiping away tears."The video is a beautiful dance piece (the music is from the wonderful Wong Kar-Wai movie "In the Mood For Love"), and watching her legs move with such incredible grace and precision you can only imagine how she must be feeling to have these tools she used to so eloquently express emotion taken away.